Nicholas headington



@uiten tatts gutem @ffice NICHOLAS HEADINGTCN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

Letters .Patent ivo. 73,529, dated January 21, 1868.

IMPROVED RAILROAD-RAIL FASTENING.

'lO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, NICHOLAS HnAD1NcToN,of Cincinnati, Hamiltoncounty,-Oliio, have invented a new and useful Fastening for the Jointsofv Railroad-Rails; and I hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being hadto theaccompanying drawings, making part 'of this speciiication.

The design and 'purpose of my invention are toprovide a simple andeicient means of fastening the conterminous extremities ofrailroad-rails securely-together', so as to render the track of likecontinuity and-smoothness at the joints as in its intermediate portions,and prevent the hammering or pounding oi' the ends ofthe rails by thecar-wheels, which is so destructive to the track and also to therolling-stock.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of two ruil-ends fastened together by myimproved fastening. v

Figure 2 is an elevatio'n of the end of 'one of the rails and a verticalsection of the fastening.

(The other figures represent detached parts, and will be explainedhereafter.)

` A and A are the sleepers, on each side of and adjacent to therail-joint. B and B are portions of two consecutive rails, with notchesC C in their ends, through which the yoke Dpasses, the ends of theyokebeing bent downward,`so as to embrace the'edges b b of the rail-base,and extend below them in a vertical direction. In the ends of yoke D,below the ruil-base, there are-slots, E, which receive the key F and agib', G. Between the key F and the sole or under part of the rail-baseis introduced a sole-plate, H, which extends under the ends et bothrails to their full width, and has, at its four corners, lugs o rprojections it" 75', above its uppersurface, which enter gaius jj in theedges of the rail-base. The form of the lugs shown in the drawings isnot essential, but that form is best which possesses the greateststrength, and at the same time can be made with the most facility. Lugsofthe form represented, having no incipient break, are stronger than ifthe corners had been cut and turned up.

Figure 8 is a perspective view ot` Vthe sole-plete detached.

Y By the action of the gib and -keythe sole-plate H is pressed firmlyupwards against the soles of both rails, -while the yoke D is drawn downwith equal irmness upon that portion of the two rail-ends which is belowthe notches C C', and the rail-ends are thereby strongly griped and heldtogether, and allvertical and lateral displacement of them, withreference to. each other, prevented. By the same means,the weight ofthecars, as'l the wheels roll upon-the rai`lend on which they approach thejoint,lwill be communicated to the oppositeand conterminous rail-end.The two rail-ends will thus mutually support each other, and the weightoi` the cars will be distributed upon and borne by the entireportio'uofthe rail extending from sleeper to sleeper, as well where thejointsoccur as in the intermediate parts of the rail.

To prevent the rails from shifting longitudinally, and some of thejoints being therebyopened, there should be notches k k in the edges ofthe base of the rails, 'to receive the spikes driven into the sleeperson each side of and adjacent to the joints. The lugs it" of thesole-plate H, by occupying the gains jj in the edges ofthe base of therails, assist in securing Ithat result, and prevent the displacement ofthe sole-plate itself. The gains jj should he sgmeivhat longer than thelugs e' z", so as to allow for .the expansion and contraction of therails, resulting from changes of temperature.

The lower ends of the yoke D are held in position by the notches Z Zinthe gib G. The key F, after it has been driven to its place, maybesecured ugainstlooscning by a nail or piece of wire, m, driven into theaperture formed by a notch, n, across the upper edge of the gib, and oneof a series ofun'otchcs across the lower edge ofv the-key, orby makingsaw-teeth indentations across the upper edge of the gib and the loweredge of the key, so that they will fit into each other when the key isdriven home. Which ofv these methods will be the most convenient must bedetermined by practice.

Figure 4 represents a transverse section of the yoke D, where it passesthrough the notches C AC in the rail-ends. The notches C C are oithesame width throughout, and their inner extremities are semicircular iuform. Along .the centre or middle line ofv the yoke D it is made of athickness equal to the width of the notches C C', so that the ends ofthe portion of the rails above the notches will touch or rest upon it,but the yoke falls off towards `its edges, and is thus convex orcrowning across its upper surface, and the under parts ofits' edgesarecurved, so as to iit the extremities of the notches C C when therail-ends touch eacbother.

The especial object of making the yoke crowning on its v,upper surfaceis to facilitate the removal and relaying of a. single rail between twoother rails in position. The most convenient way of accomplishing thisresult is to draw the spikes ofthe rail to be removed, and of one of therails contiguous to it, and take out the key, ib, and sole-plate of thefastening between them. When this is done, the two .ftdjneent ends ofthe loosened rails should be lifted up vertically, as shown in Figure 5,until they separate sufficiently for one of them to clear,

the edge of the yoke; 'the yoke may then be slipped out of the notch inthe other rail, and the rail to be removed may be shifted longitudinallyuntil it clears the yoke at its other end, and then lifted from itsplace. y

The process of laying a single rail between two others i'n position willhe the reverse of that just described. It is not essential to theefficiency ot' my improved fasteningthat the two sleepers adjacent tothe' joint should be laid nearer together than the sleepers in otherparts of the track, butto compensate for any accidental imperfection inthe workmanship or material of the fasteningand at the same time affordpartial relief from whatever strain will eome upon it, this course isrecommended. I

A modification of my improved-fastening may be mede by having thenotches C C on the top of the railends, instead of throughV their` web,in which ease the yokelj would pass over the notches and form a pnrt ofthe tread of therail. But while thismodication may possess someadvantages, nfastening of the form represented I in the drawings can bemede more easily and with less iron, and for these and other reasons,which will readily suggest themselves, is preferable.

I claim herein as new, end of my invention-l y 1. In the deseribedcombination with a sole-plate and keyingfdeviee beneath the rail-ends, Iclaim the yoke D, occupying the notches C C in the rail-ends,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The soleplate H, constructeclwith the upturnecl corners or lugs z'z"2"" and 2", for the purpose above explained.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set rmy hand.

NICHOLAS HEADINGTON.

Witnesses;

GEO. H. KNIGHT, JAMES H. LAYMAN4

